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NSW Govt does deal with Shooters over ducks

MARK COLVIN: The New South Wales Government has struck yet another deal with the Shooters Party. It's passed a law on duck shooting licences in return for their support to privatise two major ports.

The new law shifts the responsibility for issuing duck shooting licences from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to the pro-hunting Games Council.

Duck hunting was banned in New South Wales in 1995 but it is legal for farmers to shoot ducks on private land for culling purposes. Conservation and animal welfare groups are outraged. They say it's one step closer to open season duck hunting in the state.

Jennifer Macey reports.

JENNIFER MACEY: New South Wales banned duck hunting in 1995 but the then Carr government allowed for farmers to cull ducks that were causing a nuisance on their private property.

Today the Parliament went further and passed a bill put forward by the Shooters and Fishers Party to change the way duck shooting licences are issued.

That used to be done by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Now under the new bill the responsibility has been handed to the Games Council, a state government body that promotes the responsible hunting of game and feral animals on public and private land.

The New South Wales Minister for Roads and Ports is Duncan Gay.

DUNCAN GAY: Under the Government's proposed amendments native game bird hunting will be restricted to sustainable agricultural management purposes only.

The policy development, including the setting of quotas and compliance requirements will be undertaken by a new native game bird management committee.

The committee will be chaired by the Department of Primary Industries and comprise representatives of both the Game Council and the Office of Environment and Heritage.

JENNIFER MACEY: He says this is not open season on ducks and will not result in the overturn of the duck hunting ban.

DUNCAN GAY: The changes must also not undermine the guiding principle that native bird hunting on private land must only be authorised for the purpose of sustainable agricultural management.

JENNIFER MACEY: One of the two Shooters and Fishers Party members is the Upper House is Robert Brown.

ROBERT BROWN: In 1995 the duck hunters and hunters of New South Wales wide took deep exception to this. Why did they take it? Because they were going to lose a bit of sport or recreation? No. Duck hunting, for hunters, as is any hunting, is a cultural activity. Duck hunting has continued unabated in this state since 1995. Anybody who says otherwise is misleading the House.

SPEAKER: You're over Robert.

ROBERT BROWN: Okay.

JENNIFER MACEY: But conservation groups are outraged.

Justin McKee is from the National Parks Association.

JUSTIN MCKEE: What the water bird population in the east of Australia doesn't need is any more help with, any more help at all with population decline. From 1983 to 2010 there was a severe decline in water populations. There's just started to be a recovery period because of the good rains.

This was banned initially because of cruelty to animals and it was deeply unpopular. That's why the ban came through. It's a shame to see it back open. The blood sport has been reopened.

JENNIFER MACEY: Pepe Clarke is the CEO of the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales.

He says although duck shooting will be restricted to private land, the Games Council should not be in charge of managing quotas or licences.

PEPE CLARKE: This decision puts the fox in charge of the hen house. The Game Council should not be making decisions about the management of native wildlife and the Shooters and Fishers Party should not be dictating conservation policy for our state.

So this is not just about minor technical changes. This is about a very substantial expansion in the number of ducks and quails which will be able to be killed in New South Wales.

JENNIFER MACEY: This law comes a day after the New South Wales Parliament passed a bill to privatise Port Botany and Port Kembla.

And it's not the first time that Barry O'Farrell's Coalition Government has needed the support of the two sitting members of the Shooters Party.

In June the Parliament allowed the hunting of feral animals in National Parks in return for the Shooters Party support to sell electricity assets. The Government has also opened up National Parks to horse-riding and grazing.

Cate Faehrmann is the Greens MP in the Legislative Council.

CATE FAEHRMANN: This is one more step, one step closer to normalising hunting, to normalising duck hunting. You do have to wonder when this is going to stop, what the Shooters Party's demands will be next year.

I think this has been reluctantly agreed to by the Shooters Party, very reluctantly agreed to when you look at their original bill and I believe they will be back next year when this passes, as it inevitably will, they will be back next year with more demands when their insatiable constituents demand more and more access to animals and land, and land, in this state.

JENNIFER MACEY: PM contacted the Games Council but no one was available to comment.